1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of apparatus for exercising the human body. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved apparatus for exercising against an elastomeric resistance and thereby strengthening both the arms of the upper body and the legs of the lower body so that the user obtains the benefit of a substantially full body workout.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The field of human exercise has received substantial attention in the last decade as evidenced by the President's Council on Physical Fitness proclaiming that it is generally healthful that all of our people from childhood through elder adults obtain physical exercise on a regular basis. Outdoor exercise is generally recognized as the most desirable. However, a large segment of the population is unable to exercise out of doors year around or prefer to exercise indoors for reasons of climate, personal convenience, shyness, etc. Body builders, gymnasts and boxers exercise indoors commonly in facilities equipped with fixed in place exercise machines, including those for the exercise of the legs, sold under the trademark, Stair Master, as well as the numerous variable resistance machines as typified by the Nautilus equipment. Because of the expense, size and complexity of this exercise equipment, it is used at exercise centers, such as health clubs, gyms and the like. For equipment of this type to be brought into a living space or home, it would occupy a substantial area unless it could be readily disassembled and put away, yet be available for reassembly and use.
The prior art has recognized the benefits of simulating indoors the benefits of an exercise usually conducted out of doors, such as the cross-country skiing simulator as disclosed in the Norton U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,981; the running on stadium stairs for strengthening the legs and increasing cardiac output is simulated to a degree by the Wilkinson U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,218. Stationary bicycles are used by many people for exercising indoors.
Rehabilitation or strengthening various leg joints of the body through use of elastomeric or spring resistance appears in the art such as the Segal U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,542 for exercising the leg or arm, the Hartzell U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,162 which simulates the weight lifters squats exercise and the portable quadracepts muscles exerciser of the Reese U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,613.
Recent activity in the field of sports medicine has been quite intense as regards the development of exercise devices where many advancements are based on stringent scientific and medical considerations. Although exercise devices and related equipment have been produced on sound principles of kinesiology, very few have found application for boxers where the arm and fist movements are made forcefully as the boxer moves his legs. In this field, the development of the legs, as well as the arms, is important and boxers for many years increased their aerobic capacity by attention to a regimen of four to six mile daily running workouts while shadow boxing at frequent intervals. There is a need for an improved exercise device which is capable of affording boxers, as well as other athletes including runners and bicyclists, a vehicle for exercise of the legs, abdomen, stomach, arms and chest, ideally substantially within the same workout interval and with the same equipment.